Mind Set On You
by epekatz
Summary: Chapter 1 of at least 3 parts (haven't quite decided how many yet). Follows on immediately after Season 6 Episode 16 "Violets" This is my take on how Lisbon and Pike dating could still lead to a happy ending for Lisbon and Jane. This is my first ever attempt at fan fiction, so any constructive comments will be gratefully appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

"You seem distracted."

Lisbon's eyes darted to Pike, as something in his tone dragged her out of her reverie.

"Huh?" she knew she should probably make an effort to sound more ladylike, to be charming, but he had caught her momentarily off guard.

"I said, you seem distracted. What's on your mind, Teresa?"

"Oh it's nothing. I'm sorry Marcus, I guess I'm just a little more tired than I realized."

Marcus Pike usually considered himself a straight-shooter, so instead of accepting Lisbon's polite excuse he ploughed ahead, "I'm sorry Teresa, but I'm not sure that's really it. I meant it when I said I want to get to know you better. Why don't you share what's bothering you? Unless, of course, it's me…" his mouth clamped shut. What she said next would count for a lot.

"No, no. It's just me. You've been great. And the pancakes sure as hell beat that greasy pizza. We're going to have to find a better place to order pizza if we're really bringing that tradition back."

Lisbon seemed sincere to Pike and he knew for a fact that she wasn't much of an actress. He was thinking of letting the subject go, when her brow furrowed and she began to speak a little too rapidly, "It's just that, I know this is going to sound so stupid. I mean, I know I'm not his mother or anything…did you notice Jane's face as we were leaving? Did he seem kind of upset to you?" as her words sputtered out, Lisbon's face became sheepish. Why was she bringing up Jane when she was out on a date, for Christ's sake!

"Uh. He seemed fine, I guess. I mean, I don't really know the guy…" Pike hesitated.

"It wouldn't make much difference," Lisbon didn't seem to notice Pike's hesitation, her thoughts clearly turned inward as she continued, "He's hard to read, even when you've known him as long as I have." Her face scrunched up with an emotion that Pike couldn't quite identify, although it made something inside of him scrunch up in sympathy. "You two are pretty close, aren't you?" he asked.

"That's an understatement," Lisbon paused, raising her eyes from her wineglass just in time to catch a fleeting, inscrutable expression flit across Pike's face. "I mean," she continued "We're just friends, of course. We've just been through a lot together, over the years. You know how it is, right?"

"Sure," Pike replied, "I'm surprised that he never showed any interest in you though. You're so smart and beautiful, it's kind of hard to believe, to be honest."

"Oh, Jane doesn't see me that way. I think in his mind I'm just the Watson to his Sherlock, the faithful companion who has his back when he gets into trouble, which he always does. I doubt he's ever thought of me as an actual woman. Besides, I'm not even his type!" Lisbon's eyes dropped back to her wineglass and she took a hurried gulp as the slightest hint of a blush started to creep up into her cheeks. Pike was shaking his head, "Smart and beautiful isn't his type? Seriously?"

Lisbon smiled "I seem to remember he prefers rich and blonde." Despite her smile, there was something that struck Pike as defeated about her tone.

"You love him, don't you?"

"What!" Lisbon's eyebrows sprang up in consternation, "How on earth do you figure that?"

"Well, I'm no Jane. But I don't need his people-reading skills to see that you're a gorgeous, totally attractive woman who for some reason happens to be single. You hesitated when I asked you out, even though I'm pretty sure you liked me the moment we met. You moved to a different state and started a whole new career just because Jane asked you to, even though he was single-handedly responsible for dismantling your previous career. Oh, and the way you flirted with me in front of him…don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, I just couldn't help but wonder if you wanted him to be jealous or something."

Lisbon's colour had been gradually rising as Pike spoke, so that by the time he finished her face was the same colour as her glass of Sangiovese. She sprang up from her chair like a cork being released.

"Did Jane put you up to this?" he eyes narrowed and Pike suddenly had a very clear sense of how it would feel to be interrogated by Agent Teresa Lisbon.

"What? No!" his hands shot up, palms out, a gesture of supplication, "Hey, I'm sorry if I overstepped. I just thought this is something I should figure out before we get too involved."

"Too involved? Fat chance, buddy. Hey, waiter," Teresa called out across the restaurant, "Could I please get the check over here?" She had known this was a bad idea. Of course, there was no way she could actually go out and enjoy something as simple as a date without Jane spoiling it in some way. He didn't even have to be in the building.

"Teresa, I've offended you," Pike was still trying to make amends, "I'm so, so sorry for that. I didn't mean to pry. Please sit back down and let me try and make it up to you."

The apology, and even more so the expression of pure contrition on Pike's face, made Lisbon hesitate.

"You promise that Jane has nothing to do with this?"

"Teresa, like I said, I hardly know the guy."

"Fine. But you're ordering another bottle of Sangiovese," Lisbon muttered, sitting back down.

"Absolutely."

As the second bottle of Napa Valley Sangiovese worked its magic, Lisbon felt the tension start to seep out of her shoulders. Gradually, almost as if by accident, the conversation found its way back to the topic of Patrick Jane.

"I'm sorry I almost lost it before." Lisbon's voice was still clear, but those who knew her well would have recognised the slight droop to her eyelids that signaled the wine had taken effect.

"If that's you _almost_ losing it.." Pike retorted.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just a bit of a sore topic. I guess maybe there was a time, a while back, when I thought that something was going to happen between me and Jane. But then he ran off to South America for two years, and I got over it."

"That's good news for me," Pike smiled, and for the briefest of moments rested his hand on Lisbon's, "But to be honest, I'm don't think he'd be too happy to hear it."

"Oh please, I told you already, he doesn't see me that way."

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean the feelings aren't there."

"That doesn't make much sense."

"Think about it," Pike spoke slowly, deliberately, "He's known you for all this time. Maybe, isn't it at least possible, that he just doesn't realize how much you really mean to him?"

"So what am I supposed to do?" Lisbon was totally relaxed now. This date had been a disaster, so the least she could do was enjoy the wine and try and let her hair down for the evening. "Go up to him and say 'Hey, dummy, I think you might be in love with me!' Please, I would never hear the end of it. Besides, I don't even know if it's true. Sure, he cares about me. But he cares about Cho, and Wayne and Grace too."

"This is different," Pike ignored the fact that he didn't know who Wayne and Grace were.

"I thought you didn't know the guy?" Lisbon's eyes narrowed.

"No, I don't. But he seemed pretty happy to be playing house with you for this case. Notice, there was no question of me playing your boyfriend, or of Agent Fischer playing his girlfriend, even though we are both far more experienced FBI agents."

"Jane doesn't really care about things like FBI experience," Lisbon sounded certain, but there was a part of her that latched on to the thought and started to mull it over. Suddenly, she caught herself and realized, with a grimace, that this date was well and truly over. "So how did this go from being a date to you giving me romantic advice? I'm so sorry Marcus."

"Actually, it's fine," Marcus surprised both himself and Lisbon, not for the first time today. "I can't say I'm not a little disappointed. But the truth is, Teresa, that you are an amazing woman and if Jane is the guy you really want to make you happy, I don't want to get in the way of that. The only question now is, what are you going to do about it? Because if you sit back and do nothing, you're going to regret it someday. Believe me."

"It sounds like there's a bit of a story in that…"

"Maybe I'll tell you sometime."

Lisbon and Pike exchanged a smile.

"I'm going to kick myself in the morning, when I realize that I turned down a chance to be with a great guy like you, just so that I can wait around and see if Jane is ever going to notice what we could have."

"Teresa, maybe you don't have to just wait around."

"Oh, and what is your advice Agent Pike?"

"Well, it sounds to me like Jane could use a little nudge in the right direction."

"A little nudge, a massive kick up the backside, either way." Lisbon smirked, although her tone was serious.

"Alright, so what if we did something to give him that kick?"

Lisbon looked at Pike, trying to figure out if this guy could possibly be as nice as he seemed. He didn't flinch, and after a moment, her curiosity got the better of her. Before she could over-think it, she asked him the question that would end up changing everything. "What have you got in mind?"


	2. Chapter 2

Pike dropped Lisbon off at her home at the end of their "date." He even offered to walk her to her door, an offer which she brushed off with bemusement. If there was anyone waiting in the dark tonight, they were going to get an unpleasant surprise when they decided to take on a slightly drunk and very fired-up Teresa Lisbon.

Thinking about the plan she and Pike had agreed on gave Lisbon a strange warmth in her belly, that she found extremely pleasant. Or maybe it was just the wine. Either way, as she unlocked her apartment door, and made her way towards the bathroom, dropping her clothes behind her as she went, she felt an excited energy that was the exact opposite of what she'd expected to feel after two days working under-cover. As she wiped off her slightly heavier than usual make-up, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and noticed to her surprise that she was smiling. Grinning, really. Anyone who was to burst in on her now, she thought, would think she was slightly demented, grinning away to herself in the middle of the night. Which, to be fair, she kind of was after a decade of working with Jane.

This had to work. After all, it was straight out of Jane's own playbook. As she'd reminded Pike, as they came up with details, she'd learnt from the best.

The premise was simple. She and Pike would appear to be a couple. The goal was simple too. They would make Jane so jealous he would finally have the motivation to cast aside his doubt, his guilt, his fears and see his feelings for her for what, she hoped, they truly were. She had been slightly concerned about how this might play out. She knew that, for all the time that had passed, there was a part of Jane that remained deeply traumatized by the loss of Angela and Charlotte. So while there were signs that he might be finally ready to move on, she didn't want to push him before he was ready. She knew that unless he could properly let go of the guilt he felt about their deaths, he would eventually come to resent anyone who might seem to be taking their place.

Pike had reassured her, however, pointing out that the beauty of their plan was that it was designed to make Jane realize his true feelings. If, after all, his true feelings were that he was happy for things to go on as they always had and for Lisbon to be with someone else, then it was really only Lisbon who would be hurt.

Lisbon was proud of the elaborate scheme they had concocted. If the devil was truly in the details, then she had been a bad little Catholic girl tonight. And she was fairly certain that if Jane could know, he would approve, even if he was the mark this one time.

As she slipped on an old t-shirt and clambered into bed, Lisbon couldn't help but imagine that soon she might be climbing in next to Jane. Over the years, she'd been careful to avoid indulging in these kinds of fantasies. She had a paranoid fear that somehow, Jane would be able to read it in her face the next day. But after five glasses of wine and with her mind full of the two days she'd just spent playing Jane's "girlfriend," she couldn't help herself. It was just too easy, too comforting, to let her mind drift through all the delicious possibilities.

When she finally fell asleep it was with a serenely satisfied smile on her face.

...

As Pike drove away from Lisbon's building, he called Jane to check in.

'Agent Pike! How was your evening?' Jane answered the phone in high spirits.

'Pretty much exactly as you predicted. She even threatened to get the check right on cue,' Marcus replied.

'Excellent. So we're all set then?'

'Sure. But look, about this plan of yours…' Marcus hesitated, 'When you offered to help solve my case in exchange for a favour, pretending to date your colleague wasn't really the kind of favour I imagined you'd want.'

'You're not backing out now, are you Pike?'

'No, no. We made a deal. You solved the case, I'll keep up my end of the bargain. It's just…I don't really see why you need to go through all of this. You love her. She seems pretty crazy about you. What's the problem? Why don't you just talk to her?'

'Just talk to her? Hmm, I hadn't considered that,' Jane answered with childish sarcasm, ' Remind me never to come looking to you for relationship advice, Agent Pike.'

'C'mon, surely it doesn't have to be this complicated.'

'Agent Pike, believe me, it does. Teresa Lisbon may seem sweet and adorable to you right now, but believe me when I tell you she is the most infuriatingly stubborn woman I have ever met. When I fled to South America, the only thing on my mind was that I finally felt free to grieve and start moving on. But what I didn't realize was that Teresa would see me leaving as a desertion, one that she still hasn't forgiven me for. If I express my undying love to her now, while she'd still mad at me, she's going to tell me _exactly_ where I can shove that undying love.'

Pike chuckled, despite his misgivings. He'd gotten a slight taste of Lisbon's anger this evening and it made him a little more sympathetic to Jane's cause. 'Okay, so you want her to think this is all her idea?'

'Exactly. It's the only way she won't suspect me of manipulating her.'

'By manipulating her, you mean?'

'The irony's not lost on me, Agent, but all's fair in love and war, right?'

After Jane hung up, Pike shook his head in disbelief. When he'd accepted Patrick Jane's offer of assistance, he'd had no idea what he was getting himself into. He just hoped that putting himself in the middle of these star-crossed lovers wasn't going to be something he would come to regret. Time would tell, he supposed.


End file.
